Early Origins of the Rothenhale family

The surname Rothenhale was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Rothnie, afterwards known as Rotheneyk, and Rothen or Rothenay. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time.

Early History of the Rothenhale family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rothenhale research.Another 289 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 141 and 1413 are included under the topic Early Rothenhale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rothenhale Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rothenay, Rotheney, Rothen, Rothenayke, Rotheneye, Rothenhale and many more.

Early Notables of the Rothenhale family (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Rothenhale Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rothenhale family to the New World and Oceana

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: David Rothen and his wife Barbara settled in New York in 1832.